A backlink is an HTML hyperlink on one webpage that points to a URL on another site. A reader usually sees linked text, an image, or another clickable element. In the page source, an anchor element contains the destination in its href attribute. The visible words are the anchor text. They help readers understand what they can expect at the destination and can give crawlers context about the relationship between the pages. Generic wording such as “read more” supplies less descriptive context, but there is no anchor-text formula that guarantees a ranking effect. An image can also be wrapped in an anchor element. In that case, useful alternative text describes the image for accessibility and may provide context; it should not be written as a place to force keywords. The rel attribute can qualify a link. rel="sponsored" is appropriate for advertisements or paid placements, rel="ugc" identifies user-generated links, and rel="nofollow" can be used when a site does not want to associate itself with a destination or when another value does not apply. Google treats these values as hints for crawling and ranking systems rather than a promise that a link will or will not be followed or counted. A backlink's appearance alone does not reveal its SEO value. The source page may be inaccessible, noindexed, duplicated, or ignored, and search engines do not publish a score for each link. “Dofollow” is common industry shorthand for an ordinary link without a qualifying rel value; it is not an HTML attribute. Inspect a backlink with browser developer tools or page source to confirm the destination, anchor or image, redirect behavior, and rel values. Then evaluate why the link exists and whether it helps readers. A contextual editorial link can support discovery, referral traffic, and understanding, but no visual format or attribute guarantees indexing, authority transfer, or rankings.